Category Archives: Sunday Morning Sidewalk

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #59

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His & Hers

So, I thought I was right for a moment on this episode of His & Hers. I speculated last week that it was Anna’s mother, in a state of confusion, that killed Rachel. I thought the show was hinting at that when Jack had to pick her up again as she wandered down the highway.

Then, there was a second body.

So much for my twist idea.

The show is making this look like it is Jack as he seems to be the last person to consistently see the victims, this time it is Helen Wang at the school. We know that Jack was there earlier, though we did not see the confrontation.

There was one flashback to the time when Anna, Rachel, Helen were in school together and Rachel had some other girl drink a soda with her pee in it. That was mean and gross and I’m not sure why we saw it, unless they were planting some kind of seeds. There were other ways to show that this was the group of mean girls at this school.

I tell you what, if I was that girl, I would’ve thrown that soda/pee combination right back into Rachel’s face. Instead, she just ran off giving everybody a good laugh. Why are kids so cruel?

I think Priya is the one who is going to blow this case open… especially finding the connection with Jack. She is a smart one and she is already suspicious.

Jack knows that Anna was at the graveyard on the night of the murder, thanks to the old coach and his camera system.

Half way through and I wonder where this is going next.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #58

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His & Hers

“Episode 2”

What a fascinating episode of His & Hers this week. It feels like this is one of those TV show that none of the characters are meant to be liked by the audience. Jack slept with the victim, Rachel, on the night of her murder, in his truck. Anna revealed info about the murder victim on TV claiming “It’s my job.” Rachel herself is being shown as a cruel individual whose husband is a piece of crap.

We met Clyde Duffie, Rachel’s husband, and it was revealed that he knew about Rachel’s extra-marital affairs. They had an apparent agreement since Clyde had heart problems. Clyde knows more than he is letting on though and he had some kind of connection to Rachel’s friend, Helen Wang. It did seem as if Rachel and Hellen were blackmailing Clyde.

Jack discovered Rachel’s phone in his truck. That was because it rang when Clyde was calling the phone to try and run out the battery- after Jack had told him to not call the phone nay more. There is something ont he phone that Clyde did not want people to see.

Of course, there turned out to be things on the phone that Jack did not want people to see as well… including some dirty pics on a text thread. Jack was having trouble unlocking the phone so he went to the morgue to use the face of Rachel to open the phone.

He deleted the text thread which won’t remove that totally from the phone. He as a detective should know that.

He also found, in a text conversation, that Helen knew of the affair Jack was having with Rachel.

Other details we learned:

  • The cameraman that Anna slept with last episode is the husband of her rival at the TV station who had taken the anchor job from her. Felt very purposeful
  • We got a flashback to when Anna told jack she was pregnant. This was back before the world made them such a-holes.
  • My favorite line of the episode was when Jack told Anna to stay out of the way or he would arrest her. Anna asked on what charge and Jack responded, “For being an asshole.” LOL.
  • Helen had been ignoring Jack’s calls all episode, but she wound up calling the Sheriff’s Department and asking to speak to the Sheriff, not Jack specifically. Is she revealing Jack’s connection?
  • Anna’s mother Alice is a sweetheart. She seems like the one person untainted by the world, even though she has been struggling with her mental health.
  • We learn that Anna’s year long disappearance had to do with a baby that she lost, probably the same one we saw her telling Jack about. I think we had inferred this already, but this confirmed it.
  • Anna gets called back to the station in Atlanta. Her rival Lexy has not shown up and they need Anna to fill in on the broadcast last minute. How much did this have to do with the cameraman/Anna?
  • Jack got his niece Meg to give him a DNA sample, which he then turned in as his own to prevent any identification from the body.

At this point, I think any of these people could be the killer. They all have motives. I wonder if we have met the killer yet? Could it turn out to be someone unexpected like Alice? She has been having trouble wandering recently. I hope it is not Alice, cause that would feel too soap opera-y.

I am fully engaged in the mystery at this point and I am looking forward to seeing next week’s Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #57

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His & Hers

We start a new limited series this week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk. It has been one of the more popular Netflix shows over the last several months called His & Hers, starring Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson.

The show kicked off with a murder victim immediately in a small town in Georgia where murder is not common. Jon Bernthal is Jack Harper, the lead investigator for the sheriff’s department, and Tessa Thompson was his estranged wife, Anna Andrews, a investigative journalist looking into the story of the murder in her hometown.

The fist episode spent a lot of time setting up the relationship (or lack thereof) between Jack and Anna and giving us background on the setting of Dahlonega, Georgia.

Both Bernthal and Thompson are top notch actors and I am looking forward to seeing what they can bring to this show. The instant murder worked well in Twin Peaks, and this show has grabbed my attention. Admittedly, Twin Peaks had many more enigmatic characters running around than His & Hers do at this point and I do not think we have any kind of suspects as of yet. There are only six total episodes of the limited series so I expect there will not be the slow burn you would have seen in other shows where the central mystery is so important.

I liked this first episode. I am curious about the ending that showed Jack and the murder victim together in his truck having sex. I did not expect that and I am anxious to see where this heads.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #56

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Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

“The Finger Points”

The Seven Dials three part series wrapped up here on the Sunday Morning Sidewalk with the final episode “The Finger Points” where we solve the mystery of what was going down.

Last week, it turned out that I was right about the guy at the end of the episode being involved and not dead. As the investigation progressed, it became clear that Jimmy was up to his ears with this case.

I also was not surprised about the “big bad” behind everything being Bundle’s mother, Lady Caterham. Once they had mentioned that there was someone behind everything, there were only so many possible characters that we had been introduced to that could work. It was a sad and emotional resolution for Bundle and I felt really bad for her. I needed more Helena Bonham Carter in the series though.

What did catch me off guard was the reveal that the Seven Dials were a good guy organization led by Superintendent Battle and that they offered Bundle a position on the team. I liked that ending which left things very much open ended for potential expansion of the property.

I thought this was a quick watch and, although it could have been expanded to make the mystery more than what it was, I did enjoy the flow of the show. Martin Freeman was excellent in this episode and I really liked how he allowed Bundle to be involved without letting his hidden agenda out.

Mia McKenna-Bruce was great in the lead role and was very easy to root for as the mystery unfurled.

Next week, we are staying on Netflix for another series. It has been one of the most successful recent series on the platform. His & Hers starred Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson and was a limited series that ran for six episodes.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #55

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Agatha Christie Seven Dials

“Battle Commences”

So the middle episode in the three episode program found things a bit dark. It sure looked like Jimmy had been killed off, but I really question that. This Jimmy character makes me very suspicious.

When Lady Eileen was in that room with the secret society, peeking through the door, there were only six people in their black robes. I suspect that there was one missing and that person was Jimmy. Plus, there was a black man in the robes too, which I suspect is Dr. Cyril Matip, the creator of this mysterious formula that is at the heart of everything going on.

Martin Freeman’s Superintendent Battle is a bit of a jerk, not being helpful at all. However, that makes sense since Lady Eileen is an amateur detective.

Mia McKenna Bruce makes a fine lead character and I do enjoy her presences on screen and her delivery of the dialogue. I would like to have from from both Martin Freeman and Helena Bonham Carter as both characters are snuggly placed in the background.

Next week’s episode will wrap up the show and I am not sure how it can be finished off with any sort of satisfaction after the first two episodes and the reveals that have not been given.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #54

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Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials

“Bundles of Love”

This week’s new show on the Sunday Morning Sidewalk is from Netflix and is an easy to digest three episodes. It is entitled Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials, and it is a mystery based on the 1929 novel from one of the iconic mystery writers of our times.

According to IMDB, “In 1925, a country house party prank turns deadly. Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent investigates the chilling murder plot. Lady Caterham and Superintendent Battle assist in solving the country house mystery that changes Bundle’s life.”

I do love a mystery. The first episode does an admirable job of setting up some solid questions. The whole clock thing in the bedroom of the dead man, the Seven Dials being repeated, everything pointing to a suicide though Bundle would not believe it, and the tragic occurrence at the end of the episode all set the table for an interesting story.

It is a touch slow, but I loved that about it. It allowed the story to take root and bring me into it with its deliberate touch.

Mia McKenna-Bruce as Lady Eileen “Bundle” Brent feels like a very engaging and entertaining lead character. I am also excited for more from Helena Bonham Carter and Martin Freeman, the biggest stars in the cast.

I am not always into a period piece, but this mystery grabbed my attention immediately and I love the fact that there are just two more episodes to go. I hope it doesn’t wind up forced because of time. The next two episodes are just under an hour, much like the first episode was, and this feels like there are a lot of moving pieces in the story.

Still, I am happy with the new choice of show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #53

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Death By Lightning

“Destiny of the Republic”

I have been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading the fourth and final episode of the Netflix mini-series, Death by Lightning. Looking forward to because I have been thoroughly enthralled by this historical drama about James Garfield and dreading it because I have grown to admire and love the character of James Garfield and I knew what his fate held.

The Sunday Morning Sidewalk came this morning and I watched the final episode.

It was so powerful.

It made me wish for a man like James Garfield who could step up and face the corruption of the current political setting. What I wouldn’t give for an honest man, one who did not play the games, like James Garfield. Seeing how his presence and kindness transformed Chester A. Arthur was amazing.

But, it was not just James Garfield who changed Arthur. He had help from a force of nature that we got to witness in this episode: Crete Garfield. The First Lady spent the episode bringing forth the vengeance.

Betty Gilpin got her moments in this episode and she was tremendous.

There were no shortage of villains in this episode. Starting off with Charles Guiteau, who wound up shooting the president in the back. The joy he showed at his actions, despite how demented he was, was obscene. I took a lot of satisfaction in the confrontation with Crete and Guiteau’s eventual hanging. The moment just before he is hanged where he finally realized what was going to happen was best. I also found a strange satisfaction in seeing his brain removed from his dead body for research at the end.

Another villain in the episode was Roscoe Conkling. He was horrendous in his response to the shooting of Garfield. His machinations being turned back on him was great, and seeing how Chester Arthur finally stood up to him.

Then, there was Doctor Bliss. The bullet was not what eventually killed Garfield. He was killed by infection brought on because Bliss did not sterilize his instruments when he was probing for the bullet. The arrogance of this doctor came through clearly in this episode.

This was one of the most compelling four episode mini series I have seen in a long time. Great performances and amazing true stories highlighted the show. I did not expect to love this as much as I did. If you have time, binge this series on Netflix. You will not be disappointed.

Next week, the Sunday Morning Sidewalk switches to another Netflix mini-series: three episodes of a show called Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials. I can only hope that it is as excellent as Death By Lightning.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #52

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Death By Lightning

“Casus Belli”

Things are really picking up in the world of politics in 1880.

With James Garfield now elected president, he is finding the politics within in own party to be troubling. Conkling was flexing his power with Garfield’s cabinet picks, forcing Garfield to do something drastic.

Chester Arthur was, at one point, seemingly faltering, listening to Garfield’s arguments, but Garfield’s appointment of a collector, which was Arthur’s position, changed that. It led to an all-out war with Conkling.

Another one who is turning against Garfield is Charles Guiteau, who felt betrayed by Garfield, despite the fact that Garfield does not remember him at all. The mental illness being displayed by Guiteau is apparent. His purchase of the gun at the end of the episode with his “practice” was a suspenseful moment. His loss of his father and rejection of his delusion was impacted by a confrontation with Blaine. He spent this entire hour having things pile up against him. Next week’s episode should be fireworks.

Garfield’s wife also took ill, making thing rough for the President. The show told us through Garfield’s own words that he was rejecting security and said that assassination was unavoidable. This foreshadowed what is to come.

Great performances in this show. I thought Matthew Macfadyen was especially strong this week with his further decent into madness and eventual fatal thoughts.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #51

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Death By Lightning

“Party Faithful”

After the second of four episodes, James Garfield has been elected President of the United States.

The series has been flying at a pace that has been both breakneck and thrilling. Today’s politics are in no way like this. It is a welcome pace.

The first part of the episode focuses on Chester A. Arthur being lined up as the vice-president candidate and we get a good look at the personality and troubles of the man. Great performance from Nick Offerman during this episode.

Will-be assassin Charles Guiteau continued to show his delusional state as he wormed his way into the graces of Chester Arthur. Arthur was able to rid Guiteau of the people chasing him because of his theft of money from his sister and it only elevated Guiteau’s delusions all the more.

Garfield is being shown as a true honest man and a man who believed in what was right. They showed him meeting with a contingent of black leaders, swearing that their rights was the most important policy facing the country. Garfield preferred to campaign from his front porch.

The show also showed us how news spread differently at this time when Garfield’s wife, Crete, only found out about the nomination when the reporters began showing up on her front lawn. News did not fly across the planet like it does today.

The second episode of Death By Lightning is another winner and I am excited to see where this historical drama goes next.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #50

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Death By Lightning

“The Man from Ohio”

I originally chose “Death By Lightning, the mini series from Netflix, as the next show for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk because it had four episodes and I was not yet ready to commit to one of the longer shows on my list. After watching the first episode of the series, I made an excellent choice.

I was thoroughly compelled by the show. I knew little of James Garfield, outside that he was President of the United States. The way this show set up the amazing, true story was simply brilliant.

In sense, setting Garfield and his would be assassin Charles Guiteau in the same world was a remarkable feat of storytelling, which immediately reminded me of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr from Hamilton.

There was something so hopeful about the way Garfield received the nomination from the Republican Party in 1880. In a world of political discourse that we exist in today, I can not ever see such a thing happen and, the fact that it had happened, was stunning.

The political in-fighting inside the convention was fascinating. Garfield, who did not look for the nomination, received the ground swell among the delegates. Watching it build through the convention brought me a level of aspiration for the process.

Meanwhile, Charles Guiteau was being introduced to us as a manipulator and, perhaps, a mentally ill individual. What his plans are moving forward after robbing his loving sister once again, is compelling.

Great acting in the show so far as Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen lead this talented ensemble. There was also several other amazing actors in the cast including Nic Offerman, Bradley Whitford, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham, Alistair Petrie, Laura Marcus, and Paula Malcomson.

I am hooked after this first episode and I am excited to see the remaining three episodes of this mini series from Netflix.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #49

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“Part 2”

Interestingly, Billy Joel: And So It Goes Part 1 ended with a cliffhanger of sorts. Billy Joel had just had a motorcycle wreck and the doc made us think this was a huge event to Billy Joel.

Then, the second part of the doc started and the motorcycle accident was brushed aside with a mention about how his hand did not bend like it used to. That was it.

Even with that little sideline, I thought I enjoyed Part Two more than I did Part One. There were more about this that I did not know. There were more personal information than just details about the songs and why he wrote it.

The doc interviewed Christie Brinkley, famously Joel’s second wife, who was a huge inspiration with a lot of the hits of the 1980s. Hearing about the marriage and eventual divorce was very interesting.

It also spoke about the time when Billy was not active. There was a large stretch of time when he wasn’t making anything new and hearing about that time was fascinating.

The doc has a ton of individuals speaking about Billy Joel. We saw Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Pink, Garth Brooks, Nas, and Jackson Browne.

This was a really strong doc, even if it was too long. It was comprehensive and covered most of his biggest hits. This was amazing.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #48

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This week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk, we start a two episode documentary on HBO Max about Billy Joel called Billy Joel: And So It Goes. This is truly a first for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk because the first episode is almost 2 and a half hours long. Next week’s is about the same. We have never had an episode for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk as long as this was.

Honestly, I love Billy Joel, but, when the show first came out on HBO Max, the runtime of the documentary was something that put me off. However, the timing of this worked out perfectly as The Haunting of Hill House ended last week, and the next series would start over Christmas break from school. I have two weeks off from teaching and so anything that I did not get to watch on a Sunday because of the length of the documentary could easily be watched during the week. It was perfect.

I watched Part 1 today, and the doc was fascinating. It reveled a ton of details that I was unaware of pertaining to Billy Joel. The early career depression that led him to attempt suicide a couple of times was truly unexpected.

Many rock documentaries do not feature some of the worst times of the performer. They may gloss over things that they do not want to explore. I did not get that feeling about Billy Joel: And So It Goes. The cliché phrase “warts and all” seems to fit as the first episode talked about Billy’s drinking, his depression and suicide attempts, his attitude toward the record companies, just to mention a few. All of this came together to show us a cool portrait of this musician.

There were plenty of talking heads in the film including comments form Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, John Mellencamp, as well as people closer to Billy. His wife/manager Elizabeth Weber was an essential character in the narrative of Billy Joel’s early successes, and she appeared through the entire episode. Of course, we also heard directly from Billy Joel in multiple settings and time periods.

The first episode ended just after the motorcycle accident that Billy survived and the split of his marriage with Elizabeth.

We will finish episode 2 next Sunday.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #47

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“Silence Lay Steadily”

The latest Sunday Morning Sidewalk show wrapped up this morning with the finale of The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix.

Mike Flanigan’s 10-episode horror series was a great series with some complex ideas and original storytelling. The performances of the actors in the show were really great. Admittedly, I had some trouble over the first several episodes figuring out who was who, especially with the flashbacks being so prevalent. However, once that became clearer, the show really took off.

The finale was a beautiful end to the story, which was quite unexpected. There was healing and love through the Crain children and reunions of spirits within Hill House.

I had a definite vibe between Hill House in this series and Murder House from the first season of American Horror Story. In the end, Hill House had a less evil feel than Murder House, or at any time in the previous episodes of this series.

The episode focused around the Red Room and what it truly was… which seemed to be a chameleon type room, being whatever the person needed it to be. That was an intriguing concept.

The ending did reconstruct the idea around Hill House. I did not find it as evil of a location as the Crain children had made it seem. It just felt like a resting place for many ghosts.

Overall, I found this to be a very engaging and enjoyable show, with a few gaps and holes that didn’t keep me from enjoying it.

Next week, the next Sunday Morning Sidewalk will head over to HBO Max for a two-episode documentary on Bill Joel, called Billy Joel: And So it Goes. These two episodes will be the longest single episodes we have done in the Sunday Morning Sidewalk, but it feels like a good one to end 2025 with.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #46

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“Screaming Meemies”

I am not sure I was ready for that.

This episode, entitled “Screaming Meemies,” which was a slang term meaning a “heightened sense of panic or anxiety,” showed us the events of the night when Hugh took the kids and left the Hill House in the middle of the night. It was all from the perspective of Olivia, whose entire life had seemingly become a dream that she could not awake from.

I had not expected for the house to have driven her as mad as it did that she would try to awaken the twins (and Luke’s not-so-imaginary friend, Abigail) by having a middle of the night, surprise tea party, with tea laced with rat poison.

Poor little Abigail saved the day, in a sense, by sipping on her poisoned tea before the twins could, and she promptly died.

Much of this had been influenced by the ghost known as Poppy Hill, who showed up at the end of episode 7 to grab adult Luke when he tried to burn the house down. This Poppy was a nasty ghost who was planting the seeds of evil in the mind of the mentally ill Olivia, leading to this act of horror.

With this bit, in the penultimate episode no less, the last thing we need to discover from the past flashbacks, would be what happened when Hugh went back to the Hill House after he dropped his kids off at the motel. I am sure that will be included in the 70+ minute finale in episode 10.

We got to see the truth behind several of the odd things we had seen previously from Olivia, like the screwdriver she held at Hugh’s neck or breaking the mirror on the vanity that Steven had fixed up for her. Everything fit in nicely as we see the descent of Olivia into this house induced madness. We also see her “suicide”, aided by the push of Poppy Hill.

I expect that next week’s big finale will deliver big time, as this show has been truly firing on all cylinders the last four-five episodes.

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #45

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“Witness Marks”

May have been the scariest jump scare I have ever seen.

I was so engaged with the angry conversation going on between Theo and Shirley that I never once even considered that there would be something scary happen.

And when the ghostly figure of Nell screeched from the back seat, I literally screamed out. That rarely happened. The show got me good.

Prior to that, I was thinking what a group of douchebags these Crain kids were. I would go as far as to say that I really have grown to dislike both Steven and Shirley and their obnoxiousness.

I knew immediately that Luke was heading to the house. I am not sure why no one else thought of that right away, especially considering the weirdness that had been going on around the funeral parlor (last episode).

The whole knocking and doorbell ringing at that funeral parlor was creepy too, and it only served to make me dislike Shirley more. Dismissing this impossibility as kids playing pranks is just so short sighted that she was more embracing her own anger and resentments than able to see what was going on.

Then, the monologue from Theo after the jump scare was heartbreaking. The whole “I felt nothing” stuff was tough to listen to and, seemingly, finally got through the exterior of her sister.

By the way, last week’s episode had Hugh’s flashback heading through the Red Door, but nothing was mentioned or shown about that this week. That did not upset me as what we got was so excellent. Our flashback was Steven fixing up an old vanity for his mom. This was an important memory for Steven because it was proof for him about his mother’s madness, instead of one more haunted item in the Hill House.

Luke at the Hill House failing to light it on fire, only to be confronted by a vision of his mother in a red dress at the top of the stairs and the arrival of Rotten Polly, the owner of the said vanity.

There are two more episodes remaining and this series is absolutely hitting its stride. After this episode ended, which was the shortest run time of the series, I really wanted more.